PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10005-10006)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 27, 2008
Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the Office of Water which shall: (1) implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005; and (2) place primary emphasis on providing safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Directs the Secretary of State to establish the Bureau for International Water within the Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs which shall: (1) coordinate U.S. diplomatic policy regarding global freshwater issues; and (2) ensure that international freshwater issues are represented within the U.S. government.
Amends the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 to: (1) direct the Secretary and the Administrator to establish in every priority country a program to train local water and sanitation managers to promote government capacity to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation; and (2) require that the water for peace and security report includes an assessment of current and likely future political tensions over water sources and an assessment of the future impacts of global climate change on water supplies.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize grants through USAID to develop technologies for providing clean water and sanitation in high priority countries with limited resources and infrastructure.
People & committees
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · D–IL
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10005-10006)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10004-10005)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Jan 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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